Friday, June 13, 2003

WRITER: Cat Holmes, (706) 542-8960, clholmes@uga.edu
CONTACT: Gale Buchanan, (706) 542-3924, caesdean@uga.edu

MEL GARBER APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR EXTENSION AT UGA

ATHENS, Ga. – Mel Garber has been named associate dean for extension in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The appointment is effective July 1, pending Board of Regents approval.

Garber will serve as senior administrator for the UGA CAES Cooperative Extension Service, said Gale Buchanan, dean and director of the CAES. The extension service is the university's largest public service and outreach program, serving the state with a team of county extension agents and state specialists.

Currently the director of the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture and a horticulture professor at UGA, Garber will succeed Bobby L. Tyson, who is retiring.

He will coordinate extension programs with research and teaching units of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Daniel B. Warnell School of Forest Resources.

Garber's appointment was the result of an national search, said Ivery Clifton, CAES senior associate dean and chair of the search committee.

"We had two excellent candidates to choose from within the college," Buchanan said. "Dr. Garber's leadership positions in university, industry and community settings and his extensive teaching, research and extension experience demonstrate his ability to best lead the Cooperative Extension Service."

"I met with both candidates for the position of associate dean for the UGA Cooperative Extension," said UGA provost Arnett Mace. "I support Dean Buchanan's selection of Dr. Garber, given the breadth of his experience and expertise applicable to this vital position."

The CES delivers educational information from the university to Georgians on topics including agriculture, horticulture, the environment, food, nutrition and child development. Extension also coordinates the state's 4-H program.

Garber grew up on a dairy farm in Louisiana, where his family still grows soybeans, milo and sweet potatoes. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a doctorate in horticulture from Cornell University.

His industry experience includes 13 years, with both research and business management positions, at Weyerhaeuser, one of the world's largest integrated forest-products companies.

After a stint at Iowa State University, Garber's teaching and research work at UGA has focused on horticultural crops and developing the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture. The GCUA serves the state's urban agricultural industries and consumers.

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